What does treadwear mean?

Treadwear is a number molded into the sidewall of most passenger tires sold in the United States, usually written like "200TW" or "Treadwear 200". It is one part of the Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG) system set by the US Department of Transportation.

The number is a comparison rating. Each manufacturer runs its tire on a set test course and compares the wear against a reference tire rated at 100. A tire rated 200 is expected to wear about twice as slowly as the reference tire under those test conditions, and a tire rated 400 about four times as slowly.

Because each manufacturer runs and reports its own test, treadwear numbers are most useful for comparing tires from the same brand. Two tires from different brands with the same number may not wear the same way.

Real-world wear depends on many things the rating does not cover, including the car, alignment, tire pressure, surface, temperature and how the tire is driven.

On our shop, every tire shows its treadwear number on the product photo and in the Treadwear filter, so you can sort the lineup from lower to higher numbers.